I am finding verbs with the prefix "er" very hard to understand and remember the meaning of.

I understand how it works with verbs like ertrinken and ersticken (partly because I used erstochen once to tell a co-worker I had accidentally stabbed myself with a knife but actually said I had stabbed myself to death with a knife).

I also understand when it somehow corresponds to "re" in English like in erkennen and erzaehlen (in some sense re-tell).

Beyond this I find this prefix very hard to make sense of and almost all verbs beginning with "er" are problem verbs. For instance, I can't make sense of the difference between erfragen and fragen and between erkaufen and kaufen. I don't understand why erfinden means to invent when finden means to find and I don't understand why erdenken means to conceive when denken means to think (although I obviously see that in both situations they are connected concepts).

Can someone give me a guide to "er" and how it works with some groups of verbs?

I've searched for questions about the prefix "er" but couldn't find anything, but if I have just missed it please tell me.

Be careful with trying to deduce the meaning of a prefixed word from general rules. While such "rules" can be helpful in remembering the meaning, there are many exceptions, where the prefixed word means something completely different.
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oefeFeb 24 '13 at 10:29

Oefe: I know I should be careful but I find sometimes once I have a general rule, the verbs that don't follow that general rule stick out more and then my brain pays attention (and then hopefully starts to learn the meaning).
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ConradFeb 25 '13 at 17:33

The German prefix er- has nothing to do with the English prefix re-, which comes from Latin and means again or back.
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Walter TrossFeb 8 at 18:21

6 Answers
6

The prefix "er" is mostly used for a process that will cause a certain state. This states might be finite (for example, "ertrinken" and "erstechen" as well als "erschießen" will leave you dead...) or momentary.

Some examples for verbs that describe a process leading to a finite state:

And some examples for verbs describing a process leading to a momentary state:

erinnern - reminding you of something, so your concentration moves there for the moment
ertragen - suffering from something

Sometimes "er" is used as a prefix in verbs that describe the change of something:

erwachen - waking up
erliegen - becoming unable to do something for some reason of dying of a disease
ermüden - in humans: becoming tired; in materials: becoming unreliable or breaking

In some cases, the prefix "er" changes a common verb with a similar meaning into another verb that describes a process, but in every day language the prefix is tightly coupled with the word is is being used with.

In addition to the adjective the verb "erwachsen" does exist ;)
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Takkat♦Mar 11 '13 at 8:35

Note that "erhalten" is a problematic example, because it could mean "get something" as well as "instandhalten". In the latter meaning, the substantive "Erhaltung" is often used.
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IngoDec 10 '13 at 9:44

The prefix er- is derived from a tonal weakening of the Old High German prefixes ur-, ar-, ir-, and er-, which mostly turned to er- in Middle High German. Sometimes the original prefixes are partly preserved, as seen in "Urlaub" vs. "erlauben", both having the same roots.

Originally, the Germanic prefix ur- was used for epressing "aus" (i.e. out of, from within, originating), which is still seen in "heraus". This prefix did not make its way into English. In contemporary German the meaning is weakend or partly lost.

We use the prefix er- for:

Getting into a state (erröten. erwärmen, erzittern, erdenken)

Beginning of something (erblühen, erglühen, erklingen, erfragen)

Reaching of a result (erdrücken, ermorden, ertrinken, ersticken, erstochen)

Please note that these three categories are rather loose. The verbs in bold are those from the question. I tried to put them in one or the other category but with "erfragen" the appropriate category is not so clear; it could well be put in the last one (reaching a result) too.

shouldn't erfragen be in the third category?
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EmanuelFeb 24 '13 at 20:32

okay so may I "nitpickingly" suggest to "boldify" another verb of that category then :)? Having "erfragen" in bold makes it seems as if this was the prime example for the concept
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EmanuelFeb 25 '13 at 11:53

oh ops never mind :). I wasn't aware that those were the ones mentioned in the question
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EmanuelFeb 25 '13 at 17:06

All of these verbs have (in a wider or narrower meaning) a result, that is relevant. The result might be a state, an object or something else. [This is probably not the etymological root, but it works.]

Of course, if you ask something, you want to get an answer. But there are other aspects of asking (who, when, where, for what reason). The verb "fragen" is used for any of these aspects. The verb "erfragen" is used, if the result is of specific importance.

Thanks, in particular for the erfragen explanation.
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ConradFeb 25 '13 at 17:24

I was always told that I should always and always try to connect the er- verb with the meaning of root verb. The er- one would be specific as well as somehow more fancy. It works. When I am in doubt, I always see where the focus is and depending on it use the verb. It works, I would say, 60% of the time? Though the remaining time I am not even sure the word exists or not. :D
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Anurag KaliaMar 10 '13 at 18:24

The English verbal prefix ab- is connected with the Latin preposition ab and has a clear meaning. Sometimes, as in abbreviate it is the Latin preposition ad. ad+b changes to abb (assimilation).
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rogermueDec 25 '14 at 4:24